The 8 best-dressed men of the week

Bar of the week: Clean Air Bar with Ketel One vodka

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

The 8 best-dressed men of the week

Bar of the week: Clean Air Bar with Ketel One vodka

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

"Ah, I see you have your breakfast there,” Sebastian Vettel notes, as he spies a small waffle on the table in front of me. It’s still in its wrapper, so I offer it to him. This, needless to say, is not part of a Ferrari Formula One driver’s calorie-controlled diet.

The German four-time world champion arrives in Silverstone for this weekend’s British Grand Prix comfortably ensconced at the top of the standings. Driving for Ferrari is every racer’s dream, but it also brings with it a whole heap of emotionally-charged extra pressure. And these are busy times for Vettel. He escaped major censure from the sport’s governing body after deliberately smacking into the side of title rival Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes during the Azerbaijan GP last month. During the 2016 Mexican GP, he memorably turned the airwaves blue. Some interpret this as a sign of petulant entitlement, others would argue that when the red mist descends it somehow humanises a sport whose stars can all too often appear robotic. Ask 100 people and you’ll likely get 100 different opinions.

Having met the man on many occasions, I can confirm that Vettel is genuinely quick-witted, doesn’t beat around the bush and would do his best to win even if it involved getting a supermarket shopping trolley to the exit first. But he’s also fiercely private and shuts down anything deemed intrusive faster than a Hollywood A lister's publicist. He turns up to our meeting in the Shell "fanzone" on a lovely Seventies Honda motorbike (there are more classic bikes at home in Switzerland, along with various classic cars, including a Ferrari F40). Vettel recently turned 30 and celebrated by throwing a party at home. Guests included Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, whose presence has apparently done two things: firstly, hasten rumours that the German will join Mercedes for 2018 and, secondly, enrage Lewis Hamilton, who pointedly failed to turn up at the huge F1 shindig organised by new owners Liberty Media in London’s West End on Wednesday night.

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Oh yes, the Vettel/Hamilton grudge match is revving up nicely. Time for a catch-up.

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GQ: How was the London F1 Live event? Formula One’s new owners want to really ramp up the entertainment angle.

Sebastian Vettel: It was very cool. When you’re so close to the people, obviously you can’t go so fast, but you can still put on a bit of a show. I’ve done a couple of show runs of this nature, but never in the middle of London. Everyone’s so excited, they’ve got their phones out, their hands are up. To shut down part of London, that’s very special.

Ferrari and Shell have worked together for aeons now. How important is that relationship?

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It’s key. They’re not just a sponsor, they’re a major performance partner, we have the guys travelling with us to every race, although most of the work is done back in the laboratory in Hamburg. It’s small things they’re looking at, but it makes a big difference. We had steps in the past and steps this year where I can really feel the difference in power.

You surely can’t tell the difference based just on the fuel?

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Yes, you can. When we have big engine upgrades we have big fuel upgrades too, and you can feel the difference. OK, maybe not one or two horsepower, but if it’s a magnitude of five or ten bhp you can. Especially when they ask you to turn down the engine to save fuel... then you just want it back.

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Some Formula One drivers I know don’t care so much about the sport’s history, but you’re a self-confessed student of it. There’s also a general perception that every driver on the grid wants to drive for Ferrari.

Well, I don’t know about the others. Look, no discussion, I think Ferrari is the greatest team in Formula One history, it was a dream of mine when I was growing up. I always looked at Michael [Schumacher] and he was dressed in red. The idea was born there. Playing with toy cars on the carpet at home, it was always Ferrari that was the car in the lead. It was just natural. Even their model cars go faster. We’re working hard to make sure the big one goes faster than all the others as well.

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Not yet. But anything with 12 cylinders has to be driven from my point of view. Obviously, I focus more on “our” car, but it’s nice every now and then to step over to the other side and have a look. But I wouldn’t say I was that involved. Road cars are usually set up to understeer because it’s safer, even if it’s not necessarily the most exciting way to go. Although the 812 has 800hp so Ferraris are normally an exception.

Was there a Ferrari driver who inspired you?

Oh, where do you want to start? Most of them I didn’t see driving, but if you really go back, John Surtees was a really great champion. He achieved something unique, to be world champion on two wheels and four, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen again. Also Alberto Ascari... but they were different times, so it’s difficult to compare. They didn’t do as many races in F1, but they raced in a lot of other things, so I think it was a great time. There was so much diversity in the cars you drove compared to now.

With Ferrari, much of the magic was in the human side, too. Have you read any biographies of Enzo Ferrari? Assuming you have time to read?

[slight hint of sarcasm] I do have time to read, yes. I’m not a big reader, but yeah… once I was able to become part of the team, you could see that the legend he created still lives on because of the people, they carry that soul, the dream he had for Ferrari is carried by them. Winning is always great. It’s something different to drive in the red car, so it’s different to win in one. As I said, I had the dream to one day drive for Ferrari, and I’m very happy I achieved that. But it doesn’t stop there. We want to win.

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So, we’re at Silverstone. The prospect of taking this year’s car through Copse, Maggots and Becketts... with the extra downforce, grip and power of the 2017 cars, you must be itching to get on with it.

Oh yeah. It’s a great track, although I’m more of a fan of the old layout, I don’t like the new bits they put in. But the important thing is they kept the soul of the old track, Copse, Maggots, Becketts, Stowe, they should all be very enjoyable in these cars. I had a sniff in the simulator, but you don’t feel the g forces, so it’ll be exciting to see what it’s like for real. It should be quick, quicker than it’s ever been before. Generally, racing here is great, no matter the weather. And the fans are very fair. In 2009, I remember battling Jenson [Button won the driver’s championship that year in the Brawn] and everyone was on his side, which they should be, but when I won the race I got a lot of cheers and applause. It’s not like other countries where it’s just about one driver, and everyone else is booed.

We like people who are good at what they do, Sebastian.

Exactly. And that’s a good thing. But it’s still a fair crowd, even if the homeboy doesn’t win. After the race, there’s still a lot of people hanging around. The atmosphere is fantastic.

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But you are also a noted Anglophile. You like British comedy and British music, right?

Yes, that’s true.

You used to watch Monty Python and Little Britain…

Yes, and other stuff. I like the British sense of humour. I spent a lot of time here in the past [during his time at Red Bull Racing] but it suits me, I like the people.